Only vaxxed PUV drivers allowed on Baguio streets

JAB A MUST Drivers of Baguio City’s public utility vehicles are required to be vaccinated first against COVID-19 starting Nov. 10 before they can ply their routes. —EV ESPIRITU

BAGUIO CITY, Benguet, Philippines — Local policemen will conduct random checks on the vaccination status of public utility vehicle (PUV) drivers beginning Wednesday after Mayor Benjamin Magalong ordered that only inoculated drivers may be allowed on city streets starting on that day.

Magalong’s directive, which was issued on Sunday, affects drivers of jeepneys, taxicabs, vans and buses, including those entering the city from neighboring towns and provinces.

The vaccination cards or quick response codes of drivers ferrying city workers or businessmen from the neighboring towns of La Trinidad, Itogon, Sablan, Tuba and Tublay of Benguet province will be required at the borders.

“The slight inconvenience will be offset by the health and security of residents,” Magalong said after the flag raising ceremony on Monday.

According to Magalong, there have been instances when transmission occurred inside PUVs, citing data examining the behavior of the contagion in the city.

He did not reveal how many COVID-19 cases were traced to commuting in PUVs but he said the city was still trying to contain the spread of the more contagious Delta variant of COVID-19, which already infected 196 residents.

Downtrend

The number of infections in Baguio have been on the downtrend, prompting Magalong to allow the entry of fully vaccinated tourists beginning Oct. 30.

As of Sunday, Baguio’s active COVID-19 cases was down to 387 from the 3,000 to 4,000 cases recorded in September and October.

Jeepneys and taxi operators have encouraged their drivers to avail of free jabs offered at key vaccinations sites, including a drive-through facility at Burnham Park’s Athletic Bowl, the mayor said.

As of Nov. 6, Baguio has exceeded its original herd immunity target with 71.18 percent (200,025 residents) of the 281,000 eligible population now fully vaccinated. Around 50,000 more residents received their first dose.

The city also inoculated 10,996 minors from 12 through 17 years old (or 25.68 percent of the 42,811 targeted kids), and rolled out vaccinations for the rest of the general population. Baguio is also sharing its surplus vaccines with the closest Benguet towns to bolster immunization there.

No effect on mass transport

The number of unvaccinated PUV drivers who could be barred from the streets should not affect mass transport, the mayor said, as he had been assured by transport federations in the city that only a few drivers have yet to be inoculated against COVID-19.

As many as 3,000 taxicabs and more than 5,000 jeepneys serve the city, and virtually all these units have resumed operations provided they carry only half of their mandated passenger capacities, said Elmer Mendoza, Cordillera focal person on the PUV modernization program of the Land Transportation Franchising and Regulatory Board.

Jeepneys in the city have been allowed to carry up to 70 percent of their capacities to help them cope with rising world fuel prices, Magalong said at a press briefing on Nov. 5.

At least 529 bus drivers in the Cordillera have also received their jabs as of Nov. 4, most of them serving Baguio and Benguet province, Mendoza said.

“But not all Cordillera-bound buses currently operate unless the government lifts the 50-percent capacity rule,” Mendoza said in a phone interview on Monday.